Benefits of some dual citizens

[NaturalizedBorg]

I would love to have dual citizenship, but my birth country India's constitution does not allow dual citizenship. The closest they get is the 'Overseas Citizenship of India' (OCI) that allows lifetime visa privileges to India. Hopefully, they will amend the constitution and permit dual citizenship soon.

I'm not from India. I've always found India to be a wonderful, mysterious, and fasicinating country. But I do not know very much about the current/former political issues in India.

Why did India decide not to allow dual nationality? IMHO, dual nationality only is a good thing 99% of the time. (benefitis both countries) I'd appreciate it if you could point me to some websites where I can learn more about why India banned dual nationality. Thanks!

 

[Jackolantern]

One could also make the argument that if the U.S. really made people give up their former citizenship this could lead to more unhappy citizens that could actually strengthen their loyalty to their former country instead of diminishing it.

Good point. It would make many immigrants less likely to want to integrate into mainstream America; many would just keep their original citizenship. I personally wouldn't give up my original citizenship to get US citizenship.

However, one has to acknowledge the potential for problems when dual citizenship is involved. I think the OCI program of India does a good job staving off those problems ... the people with OCI status can still maintain their economic and social ties to India, investing money and starting businesses there to benefit both themselves and India (or even just visiting regularly, which also helps the Indian economy), while the fact that they aren't really Indian citizens anymore avoids the potential conflicts of interest arising from dual citizenship.

 

[cafeconleche]

India didn't ban dual citizenship. It has just never allowed it.